Apparatus and method for the mobile visual display and modification of bed management information and patient placement information

• US 20060143045A1
• Filed: 09/07/2005
• Published: 06/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/07/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: TeleTracking Technologies Incorporated
• Original Assignee: TeleTracking Technologies Incorporated
• Inventors: Nacey, Gene E.
• Granted Patent: US 9,779,366 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/2
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/221 Local indication of seats occupied in a facility, e.g. in a theatre
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

An apparatus and method for using a mobile computer device for graphically displaying and modifying information in a manner to enhance comprehension of the information and allowing for the mobile and decentralized management of information to be accomplished, wherein such information may be related to bed management and patient placement information and, furthermore, enabling the information of interest to be organized, sorted, and used in various useful and novel ways.

Claims

1. An apparatus for modifying and graphically displaying bed management and patient placement information, the apparatus comprising:

a display;

an arrangement for producing a plurality of cells for being viewed on the display, the cells having a plurality of modifiable attributes; and

a controller which modifies at least one of the attributes of at least one of the cells to convey information.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an arrangement for producing a plurality of icons for being viewed on the display, said icons conveying information.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said information is related to bed management and patient placement information.

4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:

said icons have a plurality of modifiable attributes; and

said controller modifies at least one of the attributes to convey updated information related to bed management and patient placement.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said icons are adapted to display secondary information associated with each attribute of the icon.

6. The apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the secondary information is displayed solely to authorized users of the apparatus.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said user can input comments.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cells are displayed in different colors to convey information related to bed management and patient placement.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said apparatus comprises a mobile device.

10. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said mobile device is capable of updating said bed management and patient placement information via a wireless network connection.

11. A method of modifying and graphically displaying bed management and patient placement information, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a plurality of cells, the cells having a plurality of modifiable attributes; and

wherein at least one of the attributes of at least one of the cells is modified to convey information related to bed management and patient placement.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein said cells are displayed in different colors to indicate information related to bed management and patient placement.

13. The method according to claim 11, further comprising the steps of:

displaying a plurality of icons, said icons conveying information related to bed management and patient placement, said icons being positioned within said displayed cells.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein said plurality of icons have modifiable attributes and at least one of the attributes of at least one of the icons is modified to convey information related to bed management and patient placement.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

displaying at least one patient icon within said display of information related to at least one hospital patient, each patient icon having a plurality of modifiable attributes; and

modifying the attributes of the patient icon to convey information about the patient.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of:

displaying at least one bed icon within said display of information related to at least one hospital bed, each bed icon having a plurality of modifiable attributes; and

modifying the attributes of the bed icon to convey information about the hospital bed.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein said user can input information, said input information being comments.

18. The method according to claim 13, wherein said method is implemented via a mobile device.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein said mobile device is capable of updating said bed management and patient placement information via a wireless network connection.

20. A program storage device readable by machine, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the machine to perform method steps for the visual presentation and user modification of information related to bed management and patient placement information, the method comprising the steps of:

displaying a matrix;

displaying a plurality of cells within said matrix;

displaying a plurality of icons within said plurality of cells;

displaying at least one bed icon corresponding to information related to at least one hospital bed and having modifiable attributes;

modifying the attributes of said bed icon to convey information about the hospital bed;

displaying at least one patient icon corresponding to information related to patient placement and having modifiable attributes; and

modifying the attributes of said patient icon to convey information about said patient placement.